Woodworking Projects by patron at LumberJocks.comhttp://lumberjocks.com/patron/projects
Wed, 24 May 2017 23:55:38 GMTthird times the charmhttp://lumberjocks.com/projects/320249

this is a deck of the first house i ever worked on when i started buildingover 50 years agoas you can imagine it was about to dissolve into the ground

the posts were redwood (fortunately) some main beams were railroad tiesmy cousin and his then wife bought some property outside taos new mexico

when she moved away she left it in trust for her 4 kidsthey allowed the dad (2 kids with her) to stay as a ‘caretaker’every thing that ever made it to the property is still there(i guess he’s waiting for the price of junk to blossom)

the kids want to restore it

it had been melting (adobe) for 30 years(no cement or plaster cover just natural mud)

last fall we worked on it for 2 months and the deck got another go(i had changed the surface decking about 25 years ago)

this time i got to use pressure treated lumberso it should be good for another 50 years

i did ask them to save any scrapsin case i have to do a 4th build then

wanted to show thisas it is not in the normal styles we see around

the roof is a firstand the steps are real this timeinstead of beams stacked as it was before

in the process of teaching a special student herethat has very limited clamps for breadboards at homei came up with this quick clamp idea(this is a trial one so not mass produced or tooled to tight yet)

the idea is from the age old wedges and stopsto clamp things together

this one is adjustable by sliding the stops back and forthand inserting the pin in the appropriate holeand tightening with the wedges(different width wedges can be used for fine tuning)

the real mccoy would be using a bolt or metal rodand a set of different sized ones for different width glue-ups can be made

having bought 5 cords of firewood this yearthe guy brought it in a semiand dumped it in the front yard

i found it was way bigger pieces than i could conveniently load in the stoveso got my gas splitter runningand parted them some moreand had to throw them up 6’ to the deckand go up and stack them too

well i had done the wheelbarrow thing for yearsand decided that what i needed was a conveyor belt

looked on CR and was shocked to see prices at around $250and up for the ones to slide boxes onand then looked on you-tubefound a guy that made one himselfand since i don’t have the skills or money to do thatand pillow block bearings cost more than i eat each monthi started looking around the place hereseeing all the house and shop stuff laying in the yard

thinking

got some 16’ 2×4’sand made a ‘ladder’and covered it with some 1/4” cheap box store plyand some abs plumbing drain lines drilled holes on the ends of the 2×4’sfor 1 1/2” tube (that’s the ‘axles and them’s the ‘bearings’)

got my hole saws out and made ‘donuts’ to do 1 1/2” axles into 3” roller tubesfor the conveyor sleeves to turn with

and made a 16” drive ‘wheel’ out of 3 layers of osb

well after 2 days steadyand at least 2 mistakes for every inch forwards(used screws thank god so i could take it apart for revisions)i got it running last night and watched the axle heat up and start to melt from the conveyor belt catching on things

off to bed

up this morning and got it solved(sanded and used lithium grease on the axles)eased all the corners that were catching the lap screws and nutsthat tied the belt together

made legs for it that fold to the side(the conveyor belt needs to be able to be changed or replaced maybe)

and had to modify the end to be able to use bolts and nuts to tighten the belt

got my bud to help carry it to the woodpile and set it upthe angle was somewhat steepso i quick screwed on some custom legs

and tried it in place

you can see the results

all totaled i spent $38 for 18’ of vinyl hall runner(it was 36” wide so i cut it in half lengthwise)for 2 pieces 18” wide and some overlap for the seams

like some here i have been ‘storing’ a bunch of old tools from job sites or giftswound up with 12 routers some i use on jobs the rest collect dustall are different brandsmany have no wrenches or accessories but they all work still

while moving things from the old shop to the new (still unfinished)i got to thinking why keep storing themwhy not put them to useeach as a dedicated for different bits i use often

went to lowes and got 2 shelf melamine 16”x8’and made 2 tops 4’ long with 3 bays in each one (3/4” particle board)i used the other to make 3” edge strips both have a rabbet on one side as does the main table one on both sidessome 5/16” toilet bolts and some washers and wing nuts(i can’t afford those wowee tracks and knobs)that slide in the rabbeted slot and lock thereand cut the rest of the strips up for fences with slots both endsthey ride back and forth in the main table slotsand can be tightened down anywhere needed or removed

each of 6 routers has a different bit in it3 with 1/4” shanks and 3 with 1/2” shanks

took the bases of the routers and cut holes 1” smaller and rabbeted it 1/2” to receive the base and with 1” machine screws bolted the router back up from under the top

the table complete is 2’ wide by 8’ long which stores up against the walland for most things is fine as is

the beauty of the split tables and the fixed wheels is that either side can be rolled outto accommodate longer stock if neededas the fixed wheels all are set on the radius from the hinge pin in the hingesthat connect both tableseach is rolling in its own arceither table by itself will just roll around in a circlenot wherever swivel wheels might take itone to the right one to the left

i did lose 1/2” in router height but with most bits it isn’t a problemfor dedicated others i will get a bit extender

so now i can just walk over to whichever one i needand without changing bits be able to do most things i need quickly

i still have 6 other routers saved the small ones and the plunge ones for site workor projects to cumbersome to use the table with

i will find dedicated wrenches for each one that don’t have themand make drawers under for them and any jigs or template parts i might useplus just more out of the way storage for all those things i am constantly looking for

thanks for looking and hope you might use this maybe if neededit is a simple way to increase the shop usewithout taking up to much room

a few days ago i sent out a box to a special requesti had started two awhile back to check the tools in the new shop set-upmy friend danny came thru and picked up the one going to denverand was ok with picking his own up today on his way home which gave me time to finish it got it done and still waiting for him to pick it up(for those of you that don’t know spanish‘porque’ means ‘why’ so ‘why parquet’)

dimensions are 6”h x 8”w x 25” long

it is made from some gorgeous fiddled black walnutaromatic cedar lined inside both book matched all aroundthe top on this box was recessed to accept a full inlay not just a medallion style like the other one

trying to come up with something i hadn’t used beforeand looking thru the available woods i had and the time it would take to do themi remembered i had a bunch of ash parquets tiles i had made years beforeso i re-sawed some of them and curve cut them together at the edgesto continue the theme they had and used them that way in the topkind of plain in some waysso i dado’ed a grove to make a holly strip as a ‘frame’ for themand took it up both ends and sides and along and across the topit gave a more interesting look to the random wavy one

i used some green felt in the bottomand made a sliding tray (that can be removed) to hold incidental small stufffrom getting lost in the bottom of the box

the finish is wipe on teak oil and wax super smooth and much easier to dothan spray finishes that take time and can collect dust or dripand as it is so cold out not practical to do in the winter

well now the pressure is off so christmas can be enjoyed as it should be

some time backa woman i had known (obviously as someone else)came from hawaii to be my forever companionshe had a few medical issues that i understoodand was willing to help withwhen she arrivedi made her the box shown at the bottom of first picturelacewood with aromatic cedar liningand some of my ‘ribbons’running up each end and across the top

well within 4 days of her laying in bed smoking ‘medical pot’and the tv running 24/7 watching soaps and ‘pawn stars’and giving everything that wasn’t nailed down to her kids(thank God they didn’t live here too)

well it didn’t last she decided i should leave my house/shop/ and 12.3/4 acres to her kidswithin 10 days she was gone (thank you Lord) !the box left on the table

she is affectionately remembered by me as ‘hurricane’(i thank davidheimers for forgetting her)

well as things went the box was bought from a loving father to one of his sonsthen he came by and asked for one for himselfwith the same design and even the same wood from the other smaller one(i still had a piece about 4”x12”x3/4” of itand more of the same batch of ‘ribbons‘)

he got all animated on meand said ‘just make any box and run a grove in it somewhereand inset the piece of lacewood’

well i replied that since he was designing the boxit would double the pricehe gave me some down for it and left

the dads box is curly maple with the inlays as shownthe right being the one as his sonsthe left as a balance to give more interest and color

as i was moving all the tools to the new ongoing shopi made two boxes at my leisure(both 6”h x 8”w x 24”l)to calibrate the tools as i got them up and running againone for him and another for another friend

long story short5 days ago i got a call that said friend was on his way to denverand wanted to pick up the boxes

well i made a concerted effortand got both almost finishedworking in the shop to do toolingin temps at

them moving the parts into the house to warm them and assemble and finish

yesterday one was picked upthe other i have till tuesday to give to himon his way home

hope dad likes his boxhe has another son tooand will spend the holidays with a new GFso maybe more in the works

i still have some of both the lacewood and the ribbons

i just use my exotics for inlays and accents nowit has become to expensive to use as full planks

this is the first project in the ongoing new shophttp://lumberjocks.com/patron/blog/42649a custom order box my friend wants to giftas the shop is still ‘in transit’i made this to check the tools for any refinements or adjustments that might be needed

it is a black walnut raven (as ordered)2 1/2” tall cooped on the copping saw and laid in tinted epoxy

the box is aromatic cedar 4 3/4” h x 5” w x 18” l

this is a new computer (windows)thanks for lookingso to post i needed to have a way to load and edit pictures

got a 17.3 one this time so i can see the screenwithout squinting or a magnifying glass

as some of you that follow my shop blogs knowi recently lost my daughter saida

and have been dealing with that lossthe best i can

her best friend in los angeles (giddle an actress)did a memorial page on FB for saidathat got many other friends of hers involved

they had a big ‘period costume’ memorial for her in portland oregonwhere saida lived most of her adult life

i don’t FB much but for this event have been more or less active in the memorial siteand have ‘met’ many of saidas friends theregiddle – the actress – she was in the news at the unveiling of janis joplins star on the walk of fame recentlyand was picked because she wore feathers in her hair like janis didteresa – known as ‘mother teresa’ – a kind and caring woman that took saida in to her heartcourtney – i think of her as ‘the bat lady’ – who saida went to high school with (she want’s to save the bats)ashley – the roommate that lived with saida and took her to the hospital these are the ones that stand out to meand helped saida thru lifes trialsi decided to thank by making them a ‘memorial box’

these boxes are the result of that thoughti didn’t really know her till she was 21when she found out i was still aliveafter her mother had told he i was dead all her lifethe results of that lie cost us both dearlybut love wins in the endand until she passed at 44 we had long and close connectionsand shared love the best we couldthese friends (who i have never met)told me stories and shared pictures i had never seenand i am very grateful to them all

the box idea came from my initial talks with ashley the roommatei had made saida a ‘prayer box’ years beforeand had a custom ‘prayer fan’ made from macaw feathers for herby a pawnee man i took care of for years before he too passed

i asked ashley for the box back and she agreed to thisbut unfortunately she has not been heard from sinceso i guess i have one box extra nowperhaps i will keep it for my own memoriesor find another to pass it on to

all these boxes are from other projects i had made beforethe walnut and cherry sides were from the memorial boxes i did for my brother joes passing

and the top from the tack chest made for a young ladyout of hard maple

the hearts are all from exotics and each is a different one(still have the leftovers too for future builds)

thank you all for looking

please all be safeand have a wonderful holidayswith your loved ones

as for mei am proud to be healing nowand appreciate some advice i got in a PM this morning

‘God, or the universe has taught me many many lessons through this illness. I have learned for one, that I no longer have to go a million miles an hour to prove my worth. I’m worthy just because.’

my good friends todd and robinhave a daughter kina nickolethat had kidney failure at 16

she recently got a kidney from her uncle after 8 yearsand is a riding teacher and horse trainer

thank you nickifor choosing life

i don’t know much horsey stuffexcept how to ride themand when mom and pop asked about making a tack box for nickii didn’t even know what one wastodd wanted to make it himself so i told him to come to the shop and make it here well they live 4 1/2 hours away from here up in coloradowell work and things kept that from happeningso they asked me to build one and todd sent me a drawing he designedall solid panels with box joint cornersstanding them up on end thru the table saw would have been to scary and when i got the maple and could just carry one board at a time (10 – 4/4×7 x 10’ )i knew it would have to be pared back or need two big cowboys to move it empty

the box is 40’ long x 24” wide x 28” high made with rock maple and black walnutto save weight (the maple is very heavy and very hard)i made a mortice and tenon framework with a dado for insert panels (like cab doors)and cross pinned and glued the tenons the wavy overlay is about 3 /16 thickglued to 1/2 maple ply floating panels and held in place with the walnut trimthat all has rabbets to hold the overlay in place should the glue ever give out over timethe handles are training mouth bits for the halter and are u-bolted thru the endsand give a nice lookthe horses were cut on the scroll saw and interchanged parts to give them color and styleher initials are inlaid into the top

todd and robin just came by and picked it up to drive to atlanta to visit familyand deliver their thanks to their daughter for her determination to make a good life for herself

all our friends and family here have prayed for years for her recoveryand have been fortunate to know her when she could come for a visitand i am grateful to be part of such courageous and caring people

thank you for letting me be part of that prayerthis is my vision for you nicky

(pic 1 shows the original bathroom doorand the new bedroom doors to each sidethey are yet to be finished with some special stuff)the arches are plastered adobeall ruddy and coarsewhich is part of the charm of southwestern homes

as my friends Al said (he has been adding to his adobe for years now)

‘oh …. adobe …a carpenters nightmare’

when i got the four part casing into the openings and found they were not plumband would swing open on their own plan ‘B’ was called forthe casings had their own scribe edge but as the openings were tilted and tapered front to backi had to grind them new to get the doors as plumb as possibleand still have some casing left to carry the look neededand found a need to make a separate scribe trim with reveal to seal of all the dips and hollows(pics 4 &5 show the wonky scribe) around the casings which were secured with deck screws and spray in foam sealantwhich made them solid finally

as i have been having teeth problems for the last 3 months and have had maybe 7 removed in that time once a monthwith no pain pill prescriptionsi have been toughing it out on aspirin and aleve and ibuprophineto overdose levels 24/7 and could not get to the job site to installtill recently

fortunately my good friend Alok that ordered them(and built the house himself and the bathroom door)knowing of my teeth problemsgave me leave to work on them when i could

here is a box i started a couple of years agoand while working itsplit one of the boards i have worked on it some since thenand decided to finish it with new additionslike some feetand a ‘wing’ top

and some inner liner

it was originally meant to show a friend how to do the ‘cut and switch’ techniquein a simpler waythey figured their way to do itand this got put on the shelf

it is also the first time for the ribbon i do and was how i learned it

the ‘mexican tile’ reminds me of those tiles you find in the world discount craft placessomewhat irregular and yet striking none the less

the liner is some plastic sponge stuffi found at wal-martafter looking in craft shops and art storesall i found there was fabricand from past experienceknow it can be a mess to get rightunless it is mounted on some thin plywhich i didn’t have

the box measures 13” x 13” x 4 1/2” and is made from my usual mix of woodsthe body being curly mapleand the accents mahogany

well as i had started posting some new box projectsthese are more in that line(seems like a production factory here)

these again are for some friendsthat have given me helpand kindness along my life’s journey

the small ones are just that smalland are stretching my ability to workin this scale (kudos to martyn who does this all the time)

in an attempt to learn new things and different processesi have used each one as an opportunity to expand my design and build abilities basically ‘to go where i have never been before’

while trying to spray a finish on the small onesthey almost blew of their standsand gave me even more work to fix thatso i am using BLO and wax not my preferred finishbut with many more in the worksi had to draw the line somewhere

my goal is to have all these giftsout before the end of the world day

at which time i plan to read a good bookunder my bed

the two small ones have a birdeye maple topa gift from my bud jeff (jl7) using it very sparingly to make it strechas much as possible and small inlaysto enhance the woodand not abuse it
thank you jeff

this is my first posted project in some timei’m still working on more yetbut thought i’d start showing some of the most recent work(in picture #2 that is a quarter to show relative size)

these are very small boxes3” w x 4 1/2”l x 2 3/4”ta size i have never worked in beforeand have been teaching me all kinds of new skillsand frustrations lol

i have some new friends i wanted to thankfor their help thru out our friendship

but need to keep the small reserve of ‘real’ boards i have been collectingfor hopeful spare incomeso these are all from drops and leftover scrapsand some of the ‘tutorials’ i have doneto show a process or design build

as usual i am having trouble with finishesand after using different ones(ever try and spray into a tight cornerwithout drips rampant inside the box ?)sanded them all off and went with BLO and waxas it does bring out the woodsand is something i can count on

all the mistakes are known to me hereand i will just do the best i can with themthey do teach so much

one thing in my near future i need to get one of those BIG magnifying glass thingswith the light on it as i am seeing double in this small scale even with my reading glasses on

with so many new members on LJi have been remiss to comment on many postsmy apology’s for that

as i do as much as i can to make his job easier(he will install it)i made a complete unit just like the ones from the store

except it needed to be insulated (according to me)and with only 2×6 redwood to work withi thought about this for a bitand came up with a way to use some 1/4’ T&G western red cedari had from another job as cedar is the wood of choice for saunas

as the cedar was so thin it would not be able to span the door as panelingwithout some internal helpso i made the door regular with mortice and tenonsand rabbeted a ledge around the inner frame to except the paneling on both sidesand put two 1”x 2” stiffeners top and bottom in the remaining 1” of spaceand then re-sawed some 2” pink foundation foam to 1” and inserted it into and between them

i put a lever handle on itas i feel that opening it with sweaty handsmay be to much trouble for some people

the casing is also 2×6 redwood(straightened and ripped to 5”)with vinyl and foam door sealsand a threshold with a rubber seal also

my goal was to make the door as light as possibleand insulated and water repellentso why the T&G paneling with the tongue upit will be finished with BLO as that is the age old finish for this(i don’t have any here so the pictures are a little bland yetbut i still have a week before he comes for itby then it will be done